Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Recent IELTS Exams (Canada & India) · 2026-09-11
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The pie charts below show how working adults in a particular country spent their time in 1958 and 2008.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
* Note: these aren’t the original diagrams given in the test, they were recreated for the purpose of demonstration.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The pie charts illustrate the data on the comparison of the day spent by working adults on six different categories of activities in 1958 and 2008.
Overall, in both the years, the highest number of adults spend their time by working. Conversely, in 1958, a smaller number of people spend their time by travelling to work and in 2008, the least favourite activity was going out with friends and families.
Looking at the details, in 1958, about 33% people spend their day while working which was the largest share followed by sleeping as it accounted for 32%. Conversely, other activities such as going out with friends/family, travelling to work and relaxing at home made of the lowest share as it recorded 19%, 2% and 8% respectively.
In 2008, also about 42% of adults spend their day by working which was the most dominate share of this year. Similarly, the second most popular activity was sleeping as it made of 25% after relaxing at home category with only 13%. On the other hand, playing sports and travelling to work shared the equal share only 7% and going out with friends/family was exactly 6%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the pie charts and makes relevant comparisons between the two years. However, there are some inaccuracies in the data reporting. For instance, you state that in 1958, travelling to work was 2%, but the chart shows it was 8%, and you misidentify the percentages for other categories. While you provide a clear overview and select key features, the lack of precision in data transcription prevents a higher score. To improve, ensure that you double-check the figures against the visual data before finalizing your report, as accuracy is a fundamental requirement for Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'Conversely', 'Similarly', and 'On the other hand' to link ideas. However, some of these transitions are used slightly awkwardly, and the progression of ideas within paragraphs could be smoother. The referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure feels a bit mechanical. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices and ensuring that the logical flow between sentences is more natural and less repetitive.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, including terms like 'illustrate', 'accounted for', and 'proportion'. However, there are some word choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'least favourite activity' (which is subjective and inappropriate for a data report) and 'most dominate share' (should be 'dominant'). The vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning, but it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Try to incorporate more varied reporting verbs and precise nouns to describe trends and proportions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses (e.g., 'in both the years, the highest number of adults spend their time' should be 'spent') and preposition usage. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. You should focus on maintaining consistent past tense when describing historical data and pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and article usage to improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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